Control mechanism



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1954 INVENTOR. E. Z /m/f Oct. 7, 1958 R. E. ZERUNEITH CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1954 INVENTOR FudO/fA ZerWreI/A United States Patent (ZONTROL MECHANISM Rudolph E. Zeruneith, Philadelphia, Pa. Application April 6, 1954, Serial No. 421,356

17 Claims. (Cl. 66-454) The present invention relates to the art of knitting and more particularly to control mechanism for multiple feed circular knitting machines whereby movable cams or the like may be selectively positioned to determine the character of the knitting by each feed of the machine in accordance with the set-up of the control mechanism,

It is an object of the invention to provide a relatively stationary control mechanism for a plurality of rotary feeds or knitting stations of a circular knitting machine wherein said mechanism makes a like plurality of separate selections among a number of selector bars for each rotation of the machine, each separate selection actively positioning certain of the selector bars to actuate movable cams or the like which determine the knitting at a corresponding feed, the selections being made between feeds.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a control mechanism having a control chain carried by an indexable fixed-axis drum to make the selections among the selector bars, the chain having selectively positioned lugs thereon for said selections whereby the presence of a lug will cause its corresponding selector bar to be moved to active position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a movable shuttle member traveling between the chain and the selector bars to move certain of the bars in accordance with the lugs sets out on the chain, the shuttle carrying tiltable levers which are moved by the lugs to active barrnoving position, the tilted levers being returned to inactive positions prior to each movement of the shuttle to the chain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chain shortening device whereby unduly long chains may be doubled over a roller positioned below the chain-carrying drum and wherein the doubled portion of the chain is in driven engagement with the drum.

With the above and related objects in view as they may appear in the specification, the invention consists in the operation of and the construction and combination of parts as will be more fully understood from the following description thereof, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Figure l is a view in side elevation of the improved control mechanism of the present invention showing the selector bars, the control chain upon a fixed-axis drum, and a shuttle between the chain and the bars.

Figure 2 is a view in front elevation of the mechanism of Figure l with certain of the parts shown in section.

Figure 3 is a view in section taken generally on line 3--3 of Figure 2 showing the shuttle in lowermost position in relation to the chain.

Figures 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views of the shuttle showing the position of the shuttle-carriedcontrol levers in relation to the chain and the bars as the shuttle travels therebetween.

Figure 9 is a view, partly in section, showing the dropped position of the chain doubling device.

The improved control mechanism, of general application to any type of knitting machine, is preferably used in connection with the multiple feed circular rotary cam rib knitting machine shown in copending application Serial No. 81,440, filed March 15, 1949, and on which Patent 2,705,410 issued on April 5, 1955, and is illustrated as replacing the control mechanism of that machine. The replaced control mechanism included a control chain carried by a vertically movable '(in addition to indexing) drum wherein the lugs on the chain acted directly upon the selector control bars of the machine to raise the bars as the chain was raised. The vertically movable chain and drum was undesirable because it necessitated movement of relatively heavy parts which caused a certain amount of machine vibration and which sometimes resulted in drum indexing errors. The present control mechanism avoids these undesirable features by having the chain on a fixed-axis drum and by having a'relatively light weight shuttle traveling between the chain and the bars to receive the chain-lug-data from the chain and to move the bars in accordance therewith.

The control chain, indicated generally at 10, comprises a pair of spaced roller-type link-sprocket chains 11 at the opposite ends of pivot rods 12, the links being pivotally joined by the rods, there being a pair of the rods for each link. Each pair of the rods 12 provides sufficient space, cross-wise of the chain 10, for a plurality of rodencircling control lugs 13 to be secured thereto by lugscrews 14, the lugs being selectively positioned in accordance with a pie-arranged set-up for a particular fabric to be knit upon the machine. The length of chain 10 is adjustable, the arrangement being such that a separate row of lugs 13 (upon a pair of rods 12) is provided for each knitting station or feed of the machine in each rotation thereof during which the chain 10 is operative. For example, in the case of a twelve feed machine there are twelve pairs of rods 12 per machine rotation and if,

in each repeat cycle of machine operation, the chain is to be active for control purposes during ten rotations of the machine, then a chain having one hundred and twenty pairs of rods 12 is provided. It will be understood that the chain It) is moved only during the part or parts of each cycle in which knitting changes are to be made, the starting and stopping of the chain being under the control of a separate timing or fa'bric-length-chain, not shown, as is well known in the art.

The chain 10 is carried by and indexed with a drum 15, preferably of octagonal shape, the faces of which successively provide flat bearing surfaces for the support of the bottom sides of successive lugs 13 as the drum and the chain are indexed together. It will be understood that the drum may be of other polygonal shape and that each indexing thereof will present a flat face in the horizontal lug-supporting position shown in Figure 3. The chain 10 is supportingly rotatably carried by a pair of sprockets 16, fixed to the drum ends, the sprocket teeth engaging the links of the sprocket chains 11 to move the chain 10 as the drum is indexed, The drum 15, having axially extending trunnion shafts 17 and 18, is rotatably supported by spaced drum-bracket arms 19 and 29 which are suitably secured to the outer faces of spaced side walls 21 and 22 of the main controlbracket 23, the latter being suitably secured to the underside of the upper bed plate of the machine, as illustrated in the aforementioned Patent 2,705,410. The drum shafts 17' and 18 may rotate in suitable bushings 24, fixed to the arms 19 and 20 by pins 25, and one or both of the bushings 24, Figure 2, may be provided on the drum side thereof with a series of circumferentially spaced ball-receiving depressions Within which a number of similarly spaced drum-seated spring-pressed balls 26, may enter to retain the drum 15 in indexed position. The drum 15, having a ratchet 27 secured to the end of its shaft 17 projecting through the bracket arm 19, may

be indexedv in eight steps to a complete turn thereof,

moved by a rocker arm 31 suitably pivotally mounted on the main bracket 23 upon a supported shaft 32, the pawl-stud 29 being suitably secured to the end of a depending extension 33 of the rocker arm 31. It will be seen that each oscillation of the rocker arm 31 will cause its extension 33 to oscillate to and fro, each upward movement of which will cause the pawl 28 to index the drum 15 in counterclockwise direction while each downward movement will place the pawl 28 in operative position for the next indexing of the drum 15, Figure l, to move the chain and the next-to-be-used rows of lugs -13 successively upwardly toward the cam ring of the machine.

The rocker arm 31, which has a central portion to which is afiixed a pair of spaced co-planar rocker-armrnoving rollers 34 and 35 and which has a forked end providing a pair of spaced lifting arms 36 and 37 extending outwardly of the bracket 23 through suitable openings in the side walls 21 and 22, is adapted to be positively oscillated in both directions about its shaft 32 by means of a rotating selectively operable eccentric cam 38 slidably keyed to a rotary control-shaft 39 journalled in the bracket 23, the rollers 34 and 35 being spaced :so as to be in movement-receiving contact with substantially opposite sides of the cam 38 when the latter is in rocker-arm-moving position on the shaft 39. The cam 38 is adapted to be moved axially along the shaft 39 into operative relation to rocker arm 31 under the control of the aforementioned timing chain, not shown, when the control drum and chain are to be indexed. 1t

freely rotatable rollers 40 supported in spaced relation adjacent the inner faces of bracket arms 17 and 18 on the ends of an eccentric shaft 41 having axially extending eccentrically disposed pins 42 and 43 rotatably supported by the lower ends of the said bracket arms, the rollers being spaced by a piece of tubing 44 encircling the shaft 41. The rollers 40, having circular lips 45 aligned with the drum sprockets 16, may be positioned adjacent the sprockets, as in Figures 1, 2 and 3, wherein the sprocket chains 11 trained over the roller lips 45 will have their i will be noted that the pawl carrying extension 33 of the 'ieccentric pin 43. Thus, by releasing the screw pin 48 from one of the apertures '50 and half-turning the handle 46, the rollers 40 may be positioned adjacent the sprockets 16, Figure 2, or may be positioned in spaced relation thereto, Figure 9.

The shuttle, indicated generally at 51, of generally rectangular shape, has the front face and the bottom of the central portion thereof slotted in comb-like fashion to provide a plurality of closely adjacent slots in each of which a control lever 52 is adapted to be pivotally supported about a common pin 53 extending lengthwise of the shuttle bottom through the said slots and through slot-defining walls 54, the control levers 52 being yieldingly maintained in either of two pivotally moved positions by contact with individually acting separate fingers 55 of a leaf spring 56 extending along and suitably secured to the solid rear face of the shuttle 51. Each control lever 52 of L-shape, has an upright portion 56 for engaging and moving its associated control bar as the shuttle is moved upwardly and has a horizontal portion 57 for chainlug-movement of the lever 52 as the shuttle is moved downwardly, each lever having a rounded tail portion 58 in frictional-positioning engagement with a spring finger 55 (Figure 3). The shuttle 51, extending between the inner faces of the side walls 21 and 22 of the control bracket 23, has oppositely extending guide-blocks 59 adapted to reciprocate vertically in rectangular shaped slots or guide ways 60 formed between the side walls 21 and 22 and the drum supporting arms 19 and 20; the blocks 59 having fixed pivot pins 61 extending outwardly therefrom for rotary supporting engagement in one end of each of a pair of connecting links 62, the other ends of which links are rotatably journalled on pivot pins 63 fixed to and extending inwardly from the forked lift arms 36 and 37, whereby the rocker-arm 31 acting through its arms 36 and 37, will move the shuttle 51 in a straight vertical linear path within the guideways 60. A lever-returning rod 64, fixed in and extending between the bracket arms 19 and 20, is adapted to engage all of the control levers 52 as the shuttle 51 is raised to lower any lug-raised levers to a zero position. A guard bar 65 for the levers 52 extends between and is fixed to the upper ends of the bracket arms 19 and 20.

The control-bars, indicated generally at 66, usually equal in number to the control-levers 52, are adapted to be selectively raised vertically to the position of Figures 7 and 8 within suitable brackets, not shown, as set forth in the aforementioned Patent 2,705,410, to control the character of the knitting by the machine. The bars 66, of which the raised ones, are adapted to be lowered en masse, have their lower ends guided in slots in a comb-bar 67, the upper face of which, comb-bar 67 engages with shoulders 68 of the control-bars, to limit their downward links in driven engagement with the lower sides of the sprockets 16 or the rollers 40 may be positioned in spaced relation to the sprockets 16, Figure 9, wherein the chain is out of engagement with the sprockets 16, the two positions of the rollers 40 being provided by moving the eccentric shaft 41 a half turn about its eccentric pins 42 and 43 and fixing the shaft 41 in its moved positions. When the rollers 40 are spaced from the sprocket 16, Figure 9, the chain 10 (opened at one of its links) may be readily threaded therebetween for closing and positioning,

after which the rollers 40 and the chain 10 may be moved to sprocket engaging position. To positionally secure the shaft '41, its eccentric pin 43 extends beyond the bracket arm 18 where it is fixedly engaged withina release handle 46 by a suitable set screw 47, the handle 46 having an adjustable threadly engaged screw pin 48 extending transversely therethrough for engagement of its pin end 49 in either of two diametrically spaced apertures 50 formed in the bracket arm 18 at equal distances from the movement, in which so limited down-position the levers 52 are adapted to engage the bottom edges 69 of the control bars for the raising thereof. The comb-bar 67 is fixed to and extends between brackets 70, which in turn are secured to the upper faces of a portion of the side- Walls 21 and 22 of the control bracket 23. A rod 71 secured in and extending between brackets serves to position the bars 66 between itself and the comb-bar 67. In the operation of the machine, at the point in the knitting cycle as determined by the said timing chain, not shown, the eccentric cam 38 will be axially moved on the shaft 39 into operative relation to the rocker arm rollers 34 and 35 to begin oscillation of the rocker arm 31. As

' this arm rocks about the shaft 32, the pawl 28 will begin indexing the chain 10 and the forked arms 36 and 37 will begin the vertical reciprocation of the shuttle 51, the arrangement of parts being such that the chain drum 15 is indexed during the upward movement of the shuttle 51 and no movement is given to the drum during .the downward movement of the shuttle. The lever return rod 64 is'so disposed that it will begin to turn any lugrnoved levers 52 when the shuttle is close to the end of its upward travel (at which time the bars 66 will have been substantially raised their full extent) and Will fully return such levers 52 to zero position by the time the shuttle has reached its uppermost point, the shuttle moving downwardly with all levers in zero position. The raised bars 66 remain in upward position (the upward and downward movements of the bars 66 taking place quickly between adjacent feeds) while the shuttle moves downwardly and are brought down to Zero position (of the non-raised bars) just before the shuttle begins its upward stroke. Referring to Figures 4-, 5, 6, 7 and 8, it will be noted in Figure 4 that the shuttle, having been moved downwardly, has had one of its levers 52 tilted by a lug 13 on the chain while an adjacent lever 52-A has remained in untilted zero position (there having been no chain lug under lever 52A).

The levers 52 and Liz-A are maintained in the respective positions by frictional engagement of the spring fingers 55 with their bottoms 58. All the bars 66 having been brought to lowermost position, Figure 4, the shuttle is ready to begin its upward travel as shown in the succeeding Figures, the uppermost shuttle position being shown in Figure 8. In Figure 5 it will be seen that a tilted lever 52 has engaged and is moving a bar 66 upwardly while the adjacent non-tilted lever 52-A has no raising eifect upon a correspondingly adjacent bar 66A, allowing it to remain in lowered position, the shuttle having been raised to the point where the lever-return rod 64 is just ready to engage the tilted lever 52, at which point the raised bars 66 have been given substantially their full movement to a position where they are retained by appropriate means as shown in the aforementioned Patent 2,705,410. Further upward movement of the shuttle will have no practical further raising effect on the bars 66 but it will cause the rod 64 to return or un-tilt all the lug-tilted levers 52 to zero position, as shown in Figure 8, the withdrawal of the levers from contact with the bars 66 being shown in Figures 6 and 7. With the levers 52 all in zero position of Figure 8, the shuttle may descend to the position of Figure 4 for another selection among its levers 52 in accordance with any new lugs 13 which were brought into position by the indexing of the drum which took place While the shuttle was rising. The raised bars 66 of Figure 8 will be lowered just before the shuttle again starts upwardly from the position of Figure 4.

The above-described action will continue for so long as the said timing chain causes the control chain to be active, and will be repeated as the timing chain repeats the knitting cycle.

Having described the invention the following is claimed:

1. A control mechanism for a knitting machine wherein selected ones of a plurality of movable selectors are adapted to be simultaneously moved in accordance with the data of a prearranged plan, a control member spaced from said selectors and having the data of said plan, and a shuttle oscillatable to .and fro between said control member and said selectors, said shuttle including movable shuttle elements for receiving said data when said shuttle is oscillated to said control member and for moving selected ones of said selectors in accordance with said data upon movement thereto when said shuttie is oscillated to said selectors.

2. A control mechanism for a knitting machine comprising a set of control-members selectively shi-ftable from inactive to active positions to control the knitting functions of the machine and wherein the actively shifted members of said set are restored to their inactive positions after their control functions are performed, said mechanism including an indexable control chain spaced from said control members and carrying data-elements thereon, a shuttle movable forth and back between a first position adjacent said chain and a second position adjacent said control members, said shuttle carrying a set of elements selectively positionable to active positions by engagement with said data-elements when said shuttle moves to its said first position, and the actively positioned ones of said shuttle elements shifting corresponding control-members when said shuttle moves to its said second position, means for restoring said actively positioned shuttle-carried elements to inactive position after they have shifted said control-members, means to move said shuttle forth and back, and means operable to index said chain while said shuttle is away from its first position to bring a successive portion of said chain into operative position relative to said shuttle.

3. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 Wherein said control chain is indexed while said shuttle is moving therefrom.

4. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said control chain is indexed while said shuttle is moving said control-members.

5. A control mechanism as forth in claim 2 wherein said shuttle-elements are restored to their inoperative positions after the shuttle has moved said control-members and while it is moving away from said control chain.

6. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said control-members remain in their moved positions while said shuttle moves from its control-member-moving position toward said control chain.

7. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said control chain is rotatably supported by an indexable fixed-axis drum.

8. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said data elements comprise lugs selectively affixed to said control chain.

9. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said shuttle is provided with a series of tiltable levers adapted to be selectively placed in selector-moving position by said data elements.

10. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 2 wherein said data elements comprise lugs selectively afiixed to said control chain and wherein said shuttle is provided with a series of tiltable levers adapted to be selectively placed in selector-moving position by said lugs.

11. A control mechanism for a knitting machine wherein selected ones of a plurality of row-arranged vertically movable control-bars are adapted to be simultaneously raised, a control chain disposed below said bars and having horizontal rows of selectively positioned upstanding lugs secured thereto, the lugs corresponding to the said selected bars, said chain being rotatably supported on a fixed-axis indexable drum, means for indexing said drum, and a shuttle vertically movable back and forth between said bars and said chain, means for moving said shuttle back and forth, said shuttle having a like plurality of row-arranged levers selectively tiltable to active barraising position by the said lugs as said shuttle moves toward said chain, the said tilted levers being adapted to raise the so-selected ones of said bars as said shuttle moves toward the said bars, the non-tilted levers having no effect upon the remaining bars.

12. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 11 wherein said shuttle is provided with frictional means to maintain said levers in tilted and in non-tilted positions.

13. A control mechanism as set forth in claim 11 wherein a fixed horizontal rod is disposed in the travel path of said shuttle levers whereby said tilted levers engage said rod and are returned to their non-tilted positions as said shuttle approaches the end of its bar-raising movement.

14. In a knitting machine control mechanism having a movable endless chain rotatably supported on and driven by an indexable drum, means to double said chain on itself and to maintain said doubled relation, said means comprising a rotatable member rotatably supporting a doubled portion of said chain in driven relation to said drum.

15. In a knitting machine control mechanism having a movable endless chain rotatably supported over and driven by sprocket wheels on a horizontally disposed indexable drum, means to double said chain on itself and to maintain said doubled relation, said means comprising a rotatable member rotatably supporting a doubled portion of said chain in driven relation to the underside of said sprocket wheels whereby said sprocket wheels are in driving contact with spaced portions of said chain.

16. In a knittingmachine control mechanism having an endless movable chain rotatably supported over and driven by sprocket wheels on a horizontally disposed indexable drum wherein said chain has upstanding lugs, means to double said chain upon itself and to maintain said doubled relation, said means comprising a pair of spaced rollers rotatably supporting a doubled portion of said chain in driven relation to the underside of said sprocket wheels whereby said sprocket wheels are in driving contact with spaced portions of said chain, the said lugs passing between said rollers in inverted position as said chain moves over the said roller.

17. In a knitting machine control mechanism as set forth in claim 16 wherein said rollers are rotatably mounted upon a releasably fixed eccentrically mounted shaft whereby said shaft may be turned to move said chain into and out of driven relation with said sprocket wheels, and means to releasably secure said shaft in at least one of 10 said turned positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Borschneck Sept. 15, 1914 

